opinions on Jøtul F 100 Nordic QT

[onesojourner]

I am considering the Jotul f100 qt. I have not bee able to find a whole lot of feed back on this stove. I plan to install this stove in an existing fireplace. the dimensions are:
width: 26"
height:27"
depth: 18"
hearth level with floor 15"

I think this stove should fit no problem in what I have. I think I could even top vent it. I would like this to heat 650ish sq feet. I have decent insulation in the ceilings but the walls and windows are lacking. I am not sure if I would have the 8" clearance in the back though. Does that matter since it's a non-combustible surface? Also with the hearth, witch is level with the rest of the floor I think I am going to come up 1 inch short, it's only 15". Would I be able to lay some sort of low profile tile to get it up to code? or maybe just have the stove set back a bit more. I am still reading up on this so if any one has any thoughts on this I would love to hear them.


here are couple pics of the current set up:

 

[begreen]

Calling BrotherBart to the main lobby. Nordic question at the front desk.

If you can post a picture of the full fireplace and hearth in front of it, that would help.

 

[summit]

radiant stove inside fireplace = little circulation. brick work will suck up most of the heat, and the air will have a hard time moving out. the nordic is a great little stove, but you need an insert, my man!

 

[onesojourner]

My main reason for not wanting an insert is we will only be in this house for few more years. So I plan to move what ever we get with us. The stove would just be more portable. Could I install some kind of sheet metal in the fireplace to help reflect the heat out, or could I rear vent the stove and make it stick out farther into the room?

*couple more pics added.

 

[begreen]

Bringing the stove more out into the room will help a lot. The hearth will need to be extended to meet mfg. requirements. With the bottom heat shield this is minor. A stock hearth extension board could be used if this is a temporary (3 yr) installation. A block off plate at the lintel level will also keep the stove heat more in the room.

 

[BrotherBart]

Definitely rear vent it and move it out into the room as much as possible. The F100 is a good little heater but it is what it is. A very small radiant heater with short burn times. I personally think that you will never get your money's worth from the wood or the stove in that setup. If the objective is a little bit of heat and a great view of the fire, for a small stove, then you will get that. And it will be more efficient than just incinerating wood in that open fireplace.

Be prepared to feed it every two hours.

 

[Planeweird]

Hey there,

We are in the exact same situation, so you might find my post of help.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/38854/

 

[onesojourner]

Definitely rear vent it and move it out into the room as much as possible. The F100 is a good little heater but it is what it is. A very small radiant heater with short burn times. I personally think that you will never get your money's worth from the wood or the stove in that setup. If the objective is a little bit of heat and a great view of the fire, for a small stove, then you will get that. And it will be more efficient than just incinerating wood in that open fireplace.

Be prepared to feed it every two hours.

My first problem with a rear vent is the height of my chimney. I am going to guess I will only have about 13ft from the top of the stove to the top of the chimney.

Jotuls website says this stove can heat up to 1000 sq feet. Since I am only looking to heat 650 do you think this is still to small for the job?

As far as money goes the wood is free. I have access to all the oak I want. I just have to supply the labor. I brought home over a cord about 2 weeks ago.

I actually don't really care to have a huge view of the fire. I mainly looked at this stove for its size and jotuls track record. I don't mind refilling the stove often. I would like to wake up to some hot coals if possible though.

 

[summit]

As far as money goes the wood is free. I have access to all the oak I want. I just have to supply the labor. I brought home over a cord about 2 weeks ago.

I actually don't really care to have a huge view of the fire. I manly looked at this stove for its size and jotuls track record. I don't mind refilling the stove often. I would like to wake up to some hot coals if possible though.

you will not wake up to hot coals... unless you only sleep for 4hours at a time

 

[onesojourner]

that's alright. It's not a deal breaker.

 

[summit]

the nordics work really well, and every one i have every installed has = happy customer... the caveat there was that they were aware of the stoves' limitations before they bought it.

 

[onesojourner]

By limitations I assume you mean the fairly short burn times of about 3 hours? I can live with that. Can I reasonably assume I can use this stove as the primary heat source for this 650"sq space? We don't see really cold temps very often here. 20s for lows are pretty normal for the about 2 months in the dead of winter though.


Also I have some hearth questions. this is what the manual says:

Floor Protection
The Jøtul F 100 USA requires one of the following forms
of hearth protection:
1. Any UL, ULC or WH listed hearth board. (No bottom
heat shield required).
2. Any noncombustible material with use of the
bottom heat shield.

I don't see a bottom heat shield listed as an accessory so does this stove have a bottom heat shield from the factory? I am trying to figure out what the cheapest way to extend my hearth will be.


I would also like to hear some feedback on the draft of this stove with my short chimney and a rear vent.

 

[summit]

draft will be dependent on your chimney, not the stove: when people say their stove does not draft well, it is 99% of the time a chimney problem, and the rest can be attributed to buildup of ash or other material in the baffle of the stove. the heatshield comes with this stove for both the bottom and rear... if you forgoe the bottom shield, then you need a very thick high r value hearth. if you leave it on, then a noncombustible SURFACE is all that is required

 

[Planeweird]

Summit,

Are the heat shields on the nordic and the f 3 CB built in but removable or are they separate and you attach them when delivered?

 

[onesojourner]

Alright thanks summit. I have an unlined chimney as it sits now so I will be installing a stainless flex liner with and the insulation wrap. I actually think I could do some straight pipe but I don't know that it will actually save me any money.

 

[TreePapa]

Alright thanks summit. I have an unlined chimney as it sits now so I will be installing a stainless flex liner with and the insulation wrap. I actually think I could do some straight pipe but I don't know that it will actually save me any money.

That should take care of the backdrafting problem, which is probably why the brickwork was painted black in the first place. You didn't mention a backdrafting (smoke coming into the house instead of up the chimeny) problem, but the black pain is a dead giveaway. I would venture to say that, with the open FP, you're still getting backdrafting unless you're careful to use dry wood and build hot fires in the back of the FP.

Of course, I could be wrong and it could just be someone's idea of interior decorating.

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[onesojourner]

Alright thanks summit. I have an unlined chimney as it sits now so I will be installing a stainless flex liner with and the insulation wrap. I actually think I could do some straight pipe but I don't know that it will actually save me any money.

That should take care of the backdrafting problem, which is probably why the brickwork was painted black in the first place. You didn't mention a backdrafting (smoke coming into the house instead of up the chimeny) problem, but the black pain is a dead giveaway. I would venture to say that, with the open FP, you're still getting backdrafting unless you're careful to use dry wood and build hot fires in the back of the FP.

Of course, I could be wrong and it could just be someone's idea of interior decorating.

Peace,
- Sequoia

This fire place was actually set up as gas when I moved in about 5 years ago. I never used it. My wife took the gas logs out a couple years ago and its sat there empty ever since.

 

[summit]

Summit,

Are the heat shields on the nordic and the f 3 CB built in but removable or are they separate and you attach them when delivered?

nordic has both shields already installed, f3cb (better choice 4 you BTW) rear is installed, bottom is already set up w/ a sheet metal enclosure around ash pan area.

 

[TreePapa]

Alright thanks summit. I have an unlined chimney as it sits now so I will be installing a stainless flex liner with and the insulation wrap. I actually think I could do some straight pipe but I don't know that it will actually save me any money.

That should take care of the backdrafting problem, which is probably why the brickwork was painted black in the first place. You didn't mention a backdrafting (smoke coming into the house instead of up the chimeny) problem, but the black pain is a dead giveaway. I would venture to say that, with the open FP, you're still getting backdrafting unless you're careful to use dry wood and build hot fires in the back of the FP.

Of course, I could be wrong and it could just be someone's idea of interior decorating.

Peace,
- Sequoia

This fire place was actually set up as gas when I moved in about 5 years ago. I never used it. My wife took the gas logs out a couple years ago and its sat there empty ever since.

So was the lovely black paint an improvement over how it looked 5 yrs ago? Or has it been that way since you moved in?

If it is the latter, I still suspect the black paint was used to cover soot stains on the bricks, indicating backdrafting. Of course, since you will be lining the chimney, this shouldn't be a problem for you - unless the backdrafting was caused by something other than just a funky chimney and FP. Sucn as trees overhanging chimney, chiminey too short vs. roof peak, or as it was in my house, "turbine" roof vents making the house a better chimney than the chimney (we now cover the vents in winter time).

 

[onesojourner]

Actually the fireplace was white and blue sponge paint... the black was a big improvement.

Why do you think the f3cb is a better choice? I considered it, I would have to get the short leg kit most likely. The 500 price jump is a tough one though.

 

[begreen]

The F3CB takes 18" splits and is a nice, 1 cu ft capacity heater. With hardwood you should get 2-4 hrs of good heat. I had one connected rear exit to about 14' of flue and it drafted fairly well. However, I think it has higher hearth insulation requirements that the Nordic, even with the heat shield. It would seem that the short leg kit would only make this more of a requirement, but it's best to check with Jotul on this.

 

[onesojourner]

the f3cb also requires 28 1/2 inches. I have 27 now and when the hearth is redone its going to be about 26. The short leg kit will allow up to 26.25". That would be cutting it pretty close if it could be done at all.

 

[begreen]

Have you looked at a Morso 3410? I don't have the exact flue exit dimensions on hand, but perhaps that will clear the fireplace lintel?

 

[onesojourner]

As far as I can tell that stove does not allow you to rear vent it.

 

[BrotherBart]

The 3410 can be installed either top or rear vented.